Woman, 88, dies in East Baltimore fire

Man who tried to help her injures leg

An 88-year-old woman was killed in a fire at her East Baltimore rowhouse on Sunday afternoon, according to a Baltimore City Fire Department spokesman.

Firefighters first responded to the home in the 2200 block of East North Avenue in the city's Broadway East neighborhood about 6:40 p.m. for reports of heavy smoke and fire, said Chief Kevin Cartwright, a fire spokesman.

After making their way into the home, firefighters found the woman, who was not identified, dead in a central room from what appeared to be smoke inhalation and burns, Cartwright said.

They also found a man who'd injured his leg after trying to gain access to the woman to help her escape, Cartwright said. The man, who was not identified and whose leg was possibly fractured, was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital, Cartwright said.

A total of 33 firefighters fought the one-alarm fire, which was extinguished just after 7 p.m., Cartwright said. The fire was contained to the rowhouse.

The cause of the fire had not been determined as of Sunday night, but investigators were continuing to investigate, he said.

The woman's death marks the city's fifth fire fatality this year, Cartwright said.